Attachment for automatic knitting machines



Sept. 26, 1950 J. P. WILSON ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMATIC KNITTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 15, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet l 6 m e 7 m A rrurm'y Sept. 26, WW J. P. WILSON 2,523,459

ATTAGHMENT FOR AUTOMATIC KNITTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 15, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 James Pa zzZ WZZsa 72,

Artur-1111\- Sept. 26, 1950 J. P. WILSON 2,523,46fl

ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMATIC KNITTING MACHINES Filed Aug. l3, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Inventor (Ia/26s Pea! 2 722 7;

A lmrnuy Sept, 2,, H950 J. P. WILSON 2,523,460

ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMATIC KNITTING MACHINES Filed Aug. 13, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Inventor James Fa zzZ WZ Z A ttorney Patented Sept. 26, 1950 ATTACHMENT FOR AUTOMATIC KNITTING MACHINES James Paul Wilson, Haw River, N. 0. Application August 13, 1948, Serial No. 44,041

10 Claims. 66-435) This invention relates to a demountable attachment adapted to be applied to conventional knitting machines employed for knitting hosiery, particularly mens socks and which are not equipped with means for knitting patterns on the external side thereof, and has particular reference to an attachment capable of being detachably applied to a knitting machine and driven thereby in unison with the needle cylinder thereof for adapting such machine to the knitting of stripes or other patterns on the exterior of the sock and simultaneously with the conventional operation of the machine knitting the sock.

More particularly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide an attachment for knitting machines provided with a plurality of wrapped yarn fingers adapted to be revolved in unison with the knitting machine and disposed, when in an operative position, to function in conjunction with elevated needles of the needle cylinder for feeding yarn to the machine for knitting stripes or other patterns.

More particularly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an attachment of the aforedescribed character wherein the wrapped yarn fingers are actuated by cam means for displacing said fingers in a direction radially outwardly of their supporting head and radially with respect to the needle cylinder so that the yarn guides of said fingers when revolved will describe an are which will intersect an extension of or pass over the arc or circle described by the needle cylinder so that certain of the needles of said cylinder will engage the yarn passing downwardly through the guides of the yarn fingers.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a readily demountable attachment for the aforedescribed purpose which is adapted to be driven by the drive means of the machine through a power take-off unit of the attachment and so that said attachment including the yarn fingers will be revolved at the same speed as the needle cylinder but being of a smaller diameter, the guide fingers thereof will be caused to travel at a lesser speed than the needles of the needle cylinder.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide an attachment which will support said yarn vide an attachment for the aforedescribed purpose including automatic thread tensioning means through which the thread or yarn for knitting the stripes or patterns is fed at the proper tension to the needles and to compensate for the eccentric rotation of the guides of the, yarn fingers relatively to the path of movement of said knitting needles.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide an attachment capable of being readily swung upwardly and out of the way of the knitting machine when not in use or which may be readily latched in an operative position above the knitting machine and substantially parallel to its bed plate and with power take-off means thereof in driving engagement with the driving means of the machine.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational View, partly in vertical section showing the attachment in an applied position on a knitting machine and illustrating certain parts of the knitting machine which functions with said attachment;

Figure 2 is a fragmentar horizontal sectional View taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 2-2 of Figure 1; v

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the attachment taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged side elevational View showing a part of the attachment including the yarn finger holder in an extended position and its relationship relativel to the needle cylinder, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 44 of Figure 2; i

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing the yarn finger holder in a retracted, inoperative position;

Figure" 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 66 of Figure 2;

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 but showing the yarn fingers in retracted positions;

Figure 8 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3-8 of Figure 6 Figure 9 is a perspective View of the finger holder, and

Figure 10 is a perspective view of one of the yarn fingers.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, l2 designates generally a portion of a conventiona1 knitting machine of the type employed for knitting mens socks including a bed plate I3 through which a needle cylinder I4 loosely tends. The needle cylinder I5 is provided about the circumference thereof with a plurality of longitudinally extending outwardly opening channels I5 each forming a guide for a knitting needle I6, which needles are reciprocally disposed in said guide channels I5. The cylinder It; is revolved on its axis by conventional drive means of the machine i2, not shown, forming no part of the present invention. The conventional knitting machine I2 also includes a latch ring II which is suitably supported and into which. the hook-shaped upper ends f the needles I6 project when projected upwardly by suitable cam means. The needles I6 function with other conventional parts of the machine I2, not illustrated, for knitting a sock or other hosiery, not shown, in a conventional manner. The machine I2 also includes a bearing post I8 which rises from the bed plate I3 and in which is journaled a shaft I9 which is driven by suitable power take-off means, not shown, from the drive means of the knitting machine I2 and by which the needle cylinder I4 is revolved. A bevel gear 20 is keyed to the upper end of the shaft I9 and disposed above the upper end of the bearing post I3. As seen in Figure 6, a portion of the bed plate I3 is provided with a flanged opening forming a guide 2I for a push rod 22 which is reciprocally disposed therein and which is provided with a cam-shaped lower end 23 adapted to ride onto over and ofi of conventional cam strips 24 Which are disposed circumferentiall of a main drum 25 of the machine I 2 which is likewise driven by the drive means, not shown, of the machine I2 and at a predetermined ratio to the needle cylinder I4.

Parts previously described constitute no part of the pattern or stripe knitting attachment, designated generally 26 and constituting the invention, but merely represent elements of a conventional knitting machine, not provided with means for knitting a pattern or stripe simultaneously with the knitting of a sock and which elements to some extent function in conjunction with said attachment 25. The attachment 26 includes a post 21 having an enlarged base adapted to rest on a.

portion of the bed plate I3 and which is secured thereto detachably by bolts or other fastenings 28. A supporting arm or bracket 29 is provided with a short downturn-ed end 39 which engages in the bifurcated upper end of the post 21, as best illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 and which is pivotally connected thereto by a nut and bolt fastening 3i. A boss 32 is formed on and projects laterally from the post I8 adjacent its upper end and is provided on its outer surface with an outwardl projecting latch pin or keeper 33 which is adapted to be received in an opening, not shown, of a spring latch bar 34 which depends from the opposite, free end of the bracket or arm 29 for detachably latching said bracket 29 in an operative position as illustrated in Figure l and in a plane substantiall parallel to the plane of the bed plate I3. The latch bar 34 has a limited vertical movement relatively to the pin or keeper 33 to permit a limited vertical adjustment of the free end of the bracket 29 relatively to the post I8 or said latch bar 34 may be adjustably fastened to the bracket arm 29 by its fastenings 35 to permit said latch bar to be displaced upwardly or downwardly. This vertical adjustment of the free end of the bracket 29 relatively t the post I8 is accomplished by a S I'QW 36 which is threaded vertically through the boss 32 and the upper end of which bears against a plate 31 on the underside of the bracket 29 so that when the screw 36 is advanced upwardly, the free end of the bracket arm 29 will be displaced upwardl relatively to the post I8. The screw 36 carries a lock nut 39 for engagement with the upper surface of the boss 32 to retain said screw in adjusted positions, for a purpose which will hereinafter be described.

The free end portion of the bracket 29 is provided with aligned bearing portions 39 in which a shaft 49 is journaled. A relatively large bevel gear II is keyed to the shaft 49 and meshes with the bevel gear or pinion when the bracket 29 is latched in its operative position of Figure 1 and the aforedescribed adjustment screw 36 is provided for displacing the gear 5| toward and away from the gear to afford a proper meshing engagement between said gears. The bracket arm 29 includes an integral downwardly opening hood portion 42 formed by a recessed part thereof, as best illustrated in Figure 3, through which the shaft extends and in which the gear 4| is rotatably disposed and with a portion thereof depending therefrom.

The bracket 29 is provided with an opening 43 located nearer to its free end than to its pivoted end for loosely receiving a bearing G4 having a flanged head or upper end 45 which extends longitudinally of said bracket 29 beyond the ends of the opening 43 and which is provided with longitudinally elongated openings 46 for receiving screws or bolts 41 which extend downwardly therethrough into threaded openings or recesses of the bracket arm 29 for detachably clamping the bearing head 35 to the bracket 29 and so that by loosening the fastenings 41, said bearing 44 can be adjusted in the opening 43 longitudinally of the bracket 29.

As best illustrated in Figures 1 and 6', a shaft 48 is provided with an enlarged upper end 49, a restricted lower end 50 and an intermediate portion 5I of a diameter greater than the restricted portion 59 and less than the enlarged portion 49. A bushing 52 is secured to the intermediate portion 5| and is journaled in the bearing 44. The bushing 52 has a fianged upper end or head 53 which abuts against the annular shoulder formed by the enlarged shaft portion 49 and which also abuts against a portion of a yarn carrier plate 54 which is disposed concentrically around the lower end of the shaft portion 49. The bushing head 53 also engages the upper side of the flange 45 for spacing the carrier plate 54 therefrom. A plurality of yarn guide tubes 55 extend longitudinally through the bushing 52 and through the carrier plate 54 and provide means whereby said carrier plate is connected to the bushing 52 for rotation with the shaft 48. The tubes 55, as best seen in Figure 6, are disposed concentrically around the shaft 48.

A plurality of upstanding stub shaft elements 56 are provided on the upper side of the carrier plate 54 upon each of which is adapted to be mounted for free rotation a bobbin 51 containing yarn 58 which is utilized by the attachment 26. The yarn 58 is fed from the bobbin 5'I initially upwardly through a yarn controlling and tensioning mechanism, designated generally 59 which is supported by a plate 60, mounted on a collar 6| which is secured to the shaft portion 49 substantially above the carrier plate 54. The thread after passing through the automatic tensioning and control mechanism 59, passes downwardly through guide tubes 62 which extend through the plate 60 and collar BI and thence through the aforementioned guide tubes 55. The automatic yarn controlling and tensioning mechanism 59 is covered by my co-pending U. S. patent application Serial No. 48,062 filed September '7, 1948 and reference is made to said application for a detailed description of the construction and operation of the unit 59 and a further description thereof in this application is therefore considered unnecessary.

A bevel gear 63 is detachably and adjustably secured to the shaft portion 5! by a setscrew 64 below and adjacent the bushing 52. As seen in Figure 6, the bevel gear 63 is provided withopen ings 65 which are disposed to align with the guide tubes 55 and through which the yarn 58 extends. A bevel gear or pinion 66, as seen in Figure 1, is secured to the inner end of the shaft 40 and meshes with the bevel gear. 63 for causing the shaft 48 and the parts carried thereby to be revolved by the shaft l9 and at the same R. P. M. a the needle cylinder l4 when the bracket 29 is latched in an operative position, as illustrated in Figure 1,

As best seen in Figures 6, 7 and 9,'a disk-shaped yarn finger holder 61 is secured to the restricted shank portion'58 by a setscrew or the like 68 and is disposed substantially below the upper end of said shaft portion 50 for accommodating a collar 69, constituting a yarn finger actuating head and which isreciprocally disposed on the shaft portion 58 above the holder 61. The upper side of the head 69 is provided with a recess ID to accommodate the lower end of the shaft portion 5| and the hub of the bevel gear '63 when the head 69 is in a raised position as seen in Figure '7. A plurality of screws ll extend downwardly from the head 69 throughthe holder 61 and have lower threaded ends which engage in threaded openings 72 of a cam 13 which is disposed on the lower end of the shaft portion 68 beneath the holder 61. The cam 13 is retained in an extended position with respect to the actuating head 69 by spacing sleeves "M which are disposed on the shanks of the screws II and which bear with their lower ends on the upper side of the cam 13 and which extend therefrom upwardly through the holder 61 and have their upper ends bearing against the underside of the actuating head 59. The cam 13, which is frusto-conical in shape and tapered toward its lower end, is thus supported on the shaft portion 50 for rotation therewith and for reciprocal movement relatively thereto with the actuating head The holder 6'! is provided with a groove which extends around the periphery thereof and with a plurality of radially extending outwardly opening notches or recesses 16, as best illustrated in Figure 9. A yarn finger, designated generally 11, and best illustrated in Figure 10, is detachably and pivotally mounted in each of the notches l6 and depends therefrom to substantially below the cam '13 when the latter is in an extended, operative position, as illustrated in Figure 6. Each yarn finger 11 includes an elongated shank or body portion the upper end of which is disposed in' one of the notches 15 and the inner side of which is provided with an elongated arcuate recess or notch 18. Each finger H, adjacent its upper end, is provided with an outwardly opening transverse notch 19. An endless coiled spring 80 is detachably disposed in the groove l5 and engages each of the notches T9 for detachably retaining the yarn fingers 11 applied to the holder 6 61. The groove 15 is relatively deep so that the spring 80 yieldably bears upon each yarn finger TI to cause said yarn fingers to fulcrum at the points 8|, where the upper ends of the recesses 18 merge with the upper ends of the fingers H, on the holder 61 and so that the lower ends of the yarn fingers 11 will be normally spring biased inwardly and into their positions as illustrated in Figure 5 and when the cam 13 is retracted, so that said cam will seat in the lower portions of the recesses 18' and with the tapered outer surface thereof bearing substantially flush thereagainst. The yarn fingers H at their lower, free ends are each provided withan outwardly projecting extension 82 through which a yarn guide tube 83 extends in a direction longitudinally of the fingers TI. The actuating head 69 is provided with a series of openings 84 extending therethrough for receiving the yarn 58 which extends from the openings 65 downwardly through said openings 84 and thence downwardly through the guide tubes'83. I

A hanger bracket 85 is secured to one side of the bracket 29 and extends downwardly and outwardly therefrom. An actuating fork 86 is provided with a shank 81 which is pivotally connected adjacent its inner end by a pivot pin 88 to the lower end of the hanger bracket 85 for swingably supporting said fork 86 for swinging movement in a direction longitudinally of the shaft 48. The actuating head 69 is provided with a groove 89 extending around the periphery thereof. The fork B6 straddles the actuating head 69 and the free ends of the furcations thereof are each |provided with an inwardly projectinglug 90, as best seen inFigure 1, which loosely engages the groove 89. The push rod 22 is provided with an adjustable and detachable tip 9| at its upper end for engagementwith the free end of the fork shank 81. A contractile spring 92 is anchored to the hanger bracket 85 and connects with the fork 86 inwardly of the pivot 88 for normally urging said fork upwardly and for urging the actuating head 69 to a raised, retracted position as illustrated in Fig-'- ure 5 and in which position the" cam 13. is retracted to engage in the recesses 18 of the fingers IT so that the spring 80 will retain said finger in downwardly converging relationship.

Depending upon the pattern or stripes to be applied to a sock, not shown, being knitted, strands of the yarn 58 extend from the bobbin downwardly through the attachment previously 'ventional manner.

described and are attached to the sock, in a con- As previously stated, the needle cylinder [4 and the fingers 1'! revolve at the same R. P. M. but due to the greater diameter of the cylinder, the periphery of said cylinder and the individual needles l6 thereof revolve at a greater speed than the guide tubes 83. As clearly illustrated in Figure 8 and by the center lines 930i Figures 4 and 5, representing the axis of the cylinder M, the shaft 48 is disposed eccentrically of said cylinder but when the fingers H are in retracted positions as illustrated in Figure 5, the guide tubes 83 thereof are. disposed to revolve above the cylinder [4 and inwardly of the periphery thereof. However, when the fingers are projected outwardly to extended positions as illustrated, in Figure 4 by the downward movement of the cam 13, which in so moving rides out of engagement with the finger recesses 18 for camming said fingers outwardly on their pivots 8|, the guide tubes 83 in revolving will rotate across an extension of the plane of the cylinder To I4. so as to move outwardly to beyond certain of the needles l6 which are disposed in elevated positions. As previously stated and during the normal operation of the machine for knitting the socks, the attachment 26 is also utilized for knitting a pattern or stripes on the exterior of the sock which is accomplished by utilizing the cam mechanism of the machine for projecting certain of the needles l6 which are disposed so that as the cylinder l4 and finger holder 61 revolve, said needles l6, utilized for knitting the stripe or pattern, will each engage the yarn strand 58 passing downwardly through 'one of the guide tubes 83 so that upon each revolution of the cylinder I 4 and finger holder 61, an elevated needle 16 which is being utilized for knitting a stripe or pattern will have the yarn from a particular tube 83 wrapped therearound and so as to be knitted onto the exterior of the sock and during the knitting operation of the sock. It will likewise be readily apparent that various numbers of the guide tubes 83 may be utilized at any given time for knitting stripes or patterns together with a corresponding number of needles It. The remaining guide tubes 83 will be inactive although disposed in operative positions due to the fact that no yarn will be extending therethrough and attached to the sock. It will likewise be readily obvious that the fingers will be retracted and projected intermittently as the holder 61 revolves due to the push rod 22 riding onto and off of the cams 24 of the drum 25 so that as said push rod rides up onto a cam 24 the fork 86 will be rocked counterclockwise as seen in Figure 6 on its pivot 88 for displacing the actuating head 69 downwardly to cause the cam 13 to project the fingers TI and when said push rod 22 rides off of a cam 24 the spring 92 will swing the fork 86 in the opposite direction or clockwise to elevate the actuating head 69 and cam 13 so that the fingers 11 will then be retracted by the spring 80. Accordingly, the guide tubes 83 which are functioning in the knitting operation will be projected at proper times so that the thread therefrom will be engaged by associated knitting needles E6. The method of knitting the stripes or pattern after the yarn is engaged by the knitting needle is conventional and well known in the art and fully disclosed by U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,702,- 608 issued February 19, 1929. However, the apparatus whereby the yarn guide tubes are displaced outwardly for positioning the thread to be engaged by the knitting needles constitutes one of the novel features of the present invention. From the preceding description it will be readily apparent that the fastenings 4'! in combination with the enlarged bracket opening 43 affords means whereby the shaft 48 may be displaced in a direction radially of the needle cylinder M to adapt the attachment 26 for use with needle cylinders of different diameters and so that the individual yarn guide tubes 83 will be disposed when projected to move across the path of movement of projected needles I6 of the cylinder l4.

To insure proper indexing of the individual yarn guide tubes 83 with the needles of the cy inder Hi, the bearing post [8 and pinion 20 are provided with indexing pointers 95 which are disposed in alignment before the bracket 29 is swung downwardly on its pivot 3| and latched in an operative position as previously described. Likewise before the latching of the bracket 29 in an operative position, the shaft 48 is turned until a pointer 96 carried by said bracket 29 aligns with an index line 91 on the periphery of 'the plate 54 to thereby correctly index the shaft 8 48 with the cylinder [4 when the attachment 26 is latched in its operative position of Figure 1.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted t0, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A pattern or stripe knitting attachment for circular knitting machines comprising a post adapted to be detachably mounted on and rising from a knitting machine bed plate, a bracket supported by said post and extending over the bed plate, a shaft journal-ed in said bracket and perpendicular to the bed plate, power take-01f means adapted to be driven by the drive means of the knitting machine for revolving said shaft at an R. P. M. corresponding to that of the needle cylinder of the machine, said shaft being disposed eccentric-ally of and above the needle cylinder, means carried by said shaft for supplying yarn to certain of the needles of the needle cylinder for inter-knitting a stripe or pattern on an article being knitted by the machine and concurrently with the knitting operation of the machine, yarn guide means carried by said shaft above and adjacent the upper end of the needle cylinder for guiding the thread from the yarn feeding means, said yarn guide means being swingably supported relatively to the shaft for movement outwardly to projected, operative positions for rotary movement back and forth across the path of movement of certain of the needles of the needle cylinder as the shaft is revolved whereby the yarn from said guide means will be Wrapped upon said needles at each revolution of the needle cylinder and yarn guide means, said bracket being swingable on said post for swinging the shaft and parts carried thereby upwardly and outwardly to an inoperative position relatively to the machine.

2. An attachment for circular knitting machines as in claim 1, and means for detachably latching the free end of said bracket in an operative position.

3. A pattern or stripe knitting attachment for circular knitting machines comprising a post adapted to be detachably mounted on and rising from a knitting machine bed plate, a bracket supported by said post and extending over the bed plate, a shaft journaled in said bracket and perpendicular to the bed plate, power take-off means adapted to be driven by the drive means of the knitting machine for revolving said shaft at an R. P. M. corresponding to that of the needle cylinder of the machine, said shaft being disposed eccentrically of and above the needle cylinder, means carried by said shaft for supplying yarn to certain of the needles of the needle cylinder for inter-knitting a stripe or pattern on an article being knitted by the machine and concurrently with the knitting operation of the machine, yarn guide means carried by said shaft above and adjacent the upper end of the needle cylinder for guiding the thread from the yarn feeding means, said yarn guide means being swingably supported relatively to the shaft for movement outwardly to projected, operative positions for rotary movement back and forth across the path of movement of certain of the needles of the needle cylinder as the shaft is revolved whereby the yarn from said guide means will be wrapped upon said needles at each revolution of the needle cylinder and yarn guide means, and means for adjustably supporting the 9 free end of said bracket in proper position for driving engagement with the power take-off means of the knitting machine.

4. A pattern or stripe knitting attachment for circular knitting machines comprising a shaft adapted to be driven by the drive means of a knitting machine and disposed, when in an operative position, above and substantially perpendicular to the knitting machine bed plate and above and eccentrically of the needle cylinder thereof, said shaft being revolved at an R. P. M. corresponding to that of the needle cylinder, means for demountably and swingably supporting said shaft relatively to the machine for movement upwardly and outwardly of the machine to an inoperative position, yarn guide means carried by said shaft and rotatable therewith and including a holder fixed to the shaft, a plurality of yarn guide fingers pivotally supported on said holder and depending therefrom, resilient means for urging the lower ends of said fingers inwardly toward downwardly converging, inoperative positions, each of said fingers forming guide means for yarn to be fed to a knitting needle of the needle cylinder for inter-knitting a stripe or pattern during the conventional knitting operation of the machine, said shaft and yarn guide fingers being disposed above and eccentrically of the needle cylinder and with said fingers describing an are within the are described by the needle cylinder when the fingers are in retracted positions, cam means slidably disposed on said shaft and beneath said holder for engagement with the inner edges of said fingers for displacing the fingers outwardly when said cam means is projected downwardly to an operative position, spring means for normally urging said cam means to an elevated, inoperative position, and means intermittently actuated by a part of the knitting machine during each rotation of the needle cylinder and shaft for projecting said guide fingers to cause certain of the fingers, being utilized for supplying the yarn for knitting a pattern or stripe, to move outwardly and back across a portion of the periphery of the needle cylinder to cause the yarn carried thereby to be wrapped around one or more needles of the needle cylinder.

5. A circular knitting machine attachment as in claim 4, said shaft being adjustable in its support in a direction radially of the needle cylinder for positioning said guide fingers for operation with needle cylinders of different diameters.

6. A pattern or stripe knitting attachment for circular knitting machines comprising a post adapted to be detachably mounted on and rising from a knitting machine bed plate, a bracket supported by said post and extending over the bed plate, a shaft journaled in said bracket and perpendicular to the bed plate, power take-off means adapted to be driven by the drive means of the knitting machine for revolving said shaft at an R. P. M. corresponding to that of the needle cylinder of the machine, said shaft being disposed eccentrically of and above the needle cylinder, means carried by said shaft for supplying yarn to certain of the needles of the needle cylinder for inter-knitting a stripe or pattern on an article being knitted by the machine and concurrently with the knitting operation of the machine, yarn guide means carried by said shaft above and adjacent the upper end of the needle cylinder for guiding the thread from the yarn feeding means, said yarn guide means being swingably supported relatively to the shaft for movement outwardly to projected, operative positions for rotary movement back and forth across the path of movement of certain of the needles of the needle cylinder as the shaft is revolved whereby the yarn from said guide means will be wrapped upon said needles at each revolution of the needle cylinder and yarn guide means, means for detachably latching said attachment in driving engagement with power take-01f means of the knitting machine, and means for indexing said shaft with the needle cylinder.

7. In a knitting attachment for circular knit ting machines, a yarn guide means for supplying yarn for'the knitting of a stripe or pattern com-' prising a rotatably supported holder having at plurality of outwardly opening radially disposed notches, a series of yarn guide fingers each halv= ing an upper end'engaging in one of said notches; 1

a spring engaging around said fingers for de-' tachably retaining them in engagement with said notches, said fingers having portions disposed above the plane of said spring forming pivot points of the fingers on said holder and whereby the lower, free ends of the fingers are yieldably urged inwardly by said spring and normally retained in downwardly converging, inoperative positions, said fingers having inwardly opening notch portions disposed below and adjacent said holder, a cam reciprocally disposed within said fingers and having a beveled outer surface for engagement with said notches when the cam is in a raised, retracted position and when said fingers are disposed in downwardly converging, inoperative positions, and means for projecting said cam downwardly for displacing the guide fingers outwardly on their pivots and against the action of said spring to extended, operative posiions.

8. An attachment for circular knitting machines as in claim 7, said cam being substantially frusto-conical in shape.

9. An attachment as in claim 7, and spring means for normally urging said cam upwardly and into an inoperative position.

10. An attachment as in claim 7, an actuating head reciprocally disposed above said holder for movement toward and away from the holder, means extending reciprocally through said holder for connecting the actuating head and cam, an actuating fork engaging said actuating head, means for pivotally supporting said fork for swinging movement in a direction for moving the head toward and away from the holder, spring means acting on said fork for normally retracting the actuating head and cam, and said fork having a shank end disposed to be engaged and intermittently actuated by a part of the knitting machine for moving said actuating head and cam downwardly and into projected, operative positions. 7 r

JAMES PAUL WILSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,714,400 Page May 21, 1929 2 ,111,492 Lawson Mar. 15, 1938 2,167,390 Lawson July 25, 1939 2,297,304 Jansson Sept. 29, 1942 2,426,010 Fregeolle Aug. 19; 1947 

